Still Nasty
I was so ready to write you a letter of celebration today. To exhale a great big collective sigh of relief. To leave the trauma of this election season behind us as we look toward a brighter future. On Monday, I jotted down some notes in a draft of this letter: “We’ve been through hell, but now we rise.”
I spent Tuesday night in shock and I spent much of yesterday in tears, my beliefs fully shaken. Our country has tacitly approved racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and all the other forms of hatred Trump has spewed out. This isn’t about being bummed out that we lost; this is about people’s lives being in danger.
The truth is, even if this election had turned out the way we hoped it would, there would still be trauma and hell. The hatred that fueled Trump’s campaign would still be here. It’s just that now it has more power. It’s just that our (perhaps naive, but always hopeful) journey toward a more equitable systems of power has been halted and redirected. It’s just that President Mom isn’t here to take care of things for us. It’s just that now we have to work even harder, we need to reorganize and mobilize. We need to roll up our sleeves and work together and make things happen for ourselves. We will rise even stronger.
I spent the days before the election poring over images of women who were born before they had the right to vote and this year voted for a woman for president for the first time. I also phone-banked for Hillary and every single person who actually picked up the phone and spoke to me was a mother who was planning on going to the polls with bells on and her children in tow. I also listened to the speech Hillary gave at Wellesley as a young activist in 1969.
“Fear is always with us but we just don’t have time for it. Not now.”
In the days before the election, I was so inspired by all this. That inspiration isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it’s growing even more.
I’m finding immense comfort and hope in the fact that Trump did not win the popular vote. The majority of people in this country do not want him and do not endorse his hatred.
And that majority is MOBILIZING. It is so incredible to watch people — especially strong women — banding together. In the last day, I’ve seen so many Facebook groups, writing projects, petitions, protests, support for progressive organizations, and more pop up and act. We will not stand for whatever fuckery Trump and his supporters have planned.
A Nowhere-Near Complete List of Things You Can Do
- The always-inspiring Lily Herman created a Facebook group that is providing support and clear positive action in a way that I am so grateful for. Reach out to me if you’d like to be invited to it.
- Read and act on this incredibly thorough guide filled with resources.
- Check out and support these pro-women, pro-immigrant, pro-Earth, anti-bigotry organizations.
- Donate to a fund to help trans people legally change their name and gender before January when that becomes much more difficult to do.
- Support minority-owned businesses.
- Donate to and volunteer for Planned Parenthood. (And while you’re at it, if you’re a vagina-owning person who has sex that can result in pregnancy, consider getting an IUD or other LARC that will last through the Trump presidency and any plans he and his cabinet have to fuck with birth control. I have an appointment to get mine tomorrow!)
- Celebrate and champion our diverse senators.
- Support women of color leaders with #our100.
- Contribute and support marginalized voices contributing to writing projects like The Trump Years and Cade Leebron’s Us for President.
- Power your home or business with clean energy so you can help protect the environment.
- The electoral college does not vote until December 19. There is a chance that they can elect Hillary Clinton. Sign this petition.
- White people, stand with POC. Men, stand with women. Christian people, stand with Muslims and Jews. Straight people, stand with LGBTQ people. The list goes on… Recognize your privilege and stand with marginalized people at every intersection of identity. We all matter.
- Here’s what comes next.
Perhaps most importantly, remember that love is an active verb. Show your love and support through kind and meaningful acts. Send that text, smile at that stranger, give that hug. Take care of each other.
And take care of yourselves. Here’s an excellent list of self-care tips. Personally, I’m looking at a night of yoga and ramen with bae; we gotta nourish ourselves in good ways so that tomorrow we can continue to hope and fight.
Thank you, Hillary, for doing the hard work no one else could do. Thank you for blazing a trail. Thank you for coming at that glass ceiling with a sledgehammer and a plan. I thought that I was going to be a part of a generation of young women who truly came of age under the first female president in a progressive era. Now, I see that there is simply more work to do, work that you’ve inspired.
We will rise stronger and nastier than ever.
In the wise words of Tony Kushner:
“The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come. Bye now. You are fabulous creatures, each and everyone. And I bless you: More Life. The Great Work Begins.” — Angels in America, Part II: Perestroika
This originally appeared in Pop Warrior, Issue №12 on November 10, 2016.
Pop Warrior is Sarah Halle Corey’s bi-weekly email newsletter about feminism, feelings, pop culture, and everything in between. Subscribe here.
